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Baked Chicken and Broccoli

I like to try at least one new recipe every week. As an experiment, I decided to try making a post about the experience. I had fun doing it.

This week, I tried roasted broccoli using a technique I found in The Homestead Kitchen, a cookbook written by my friend Heather Jackson. I knew the Jacksons for nearly three years before I found out she had written a book. I ordered it and it’s awesome. It’s mostly comfort food, and a few that I can’t wait to try for a special occasion. There are also some delicious-looking healthy options like this roasted broccoli, too. Usually, my house eats light, so I made a roast chicken to pair the broccoli with and I thought I’d throw the recipe for that in, too. I was struggling to remember where I learned the chicken recipe, but it just came to me: my high school girlfriend taught me this method. That means this is one of the first things I ever learned to cook. Woah, dude. Anyway, it makes flavorful moist chicken instead of that horrible dry chicken people imagine when you say “baked” and “chicken” in the same sentence.

For the chicken

Ingredients

boneless skinless chicken breasts

olive oil

kosher salt

Mrs. Dash chicken grilling blend

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.

Rinse the blood off the chicken and pat dry, then trim off the fat.

Arrange the breasts in a 13×9 baking dish so they don’t touch each other or the sides.

Mist or lightly brush on olive oil. Just enough to give a sheen, it shouldn’t be enough to run off into the pan.

Use butter instead of olive oil for a richer flavor, but more obstructed arteries

Use any spices you like. I have made this with garam masala, with chinese five spice powder, and with salt pepper and lemon juice before. All good.

For the broccoli

Ingredients

one bunch of broccoli (two bunches if you don’t like the stalks)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425

Wash and chop the broccoli into bite size pieces. Florets and stalks. Discard the very bottom pieces from each stalk. They look weird.

Spread the broccoli out in a single layer in an 11×15 baking dish.

Drizzle on olive oil, apply the spices, and mix thoroughly with your hands.

Into the center of the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the edges start to brown

Serve.

Results: Success! The broccoli was cooked, but still crunchy in the center. This is a great alternative to steaming. I could have let it go longer to get more color on, and will next time. Oh yeah, there’s gonna be a next time. If you don’t like your veggies crunchy, let it go longer. Just keep an eye on the browning and don’t burn it.

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